Bossa Nova

The Bossa Nova was first heard in small clubs and Cafe's in the beachfront districts of Rio de Janeiro around 1958. In its home of Brazil, the Bossa-Nova can be translated as "the new beat". Antonio Carlos Jobim is credited as naming the Bossa Nova to describe João Gilberto's new musical style. Gilberto made a few albums and played Bossa Nova's at out door concerts in Rio de Janeiro.

The roots of the Bossa Nova music were created by young Brazillian musicians looking for a new way on an old theme ... The Samba, they added Jazz to it. All roads point to Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá (1922-2001), all three are musician / Composers who wrote the first Bossa Nova "A felicidade" for the 1958 (1959) film "Black Orpheus," Sidney Frey brought the music to the United States while Elvis Presley and songs like the "The Girl From Ipanema" made it a somewhat popular music. The Music is likened to a subtle Jazz-Samba.

The dance is basically the opposite steps of the rumba, (Slow-Quick-Quick) with a subtle Samba flair, very similar to today's much slower Nightclub Two-step. The dance can be done in couple or solo form. Joe Lanza says (but not verified) that he choreographed the first "Bossa Nova Dance" to "Bossa-Nova Music." Lenny Dale is also credited to have created the First Bossa Nova dance in Rio.